Urban 2.0 aspects & system

Urban 2.0 exists to support a vision to make urban environments thriving, green and resilient places, with the three main areas of this vision linked to an Urban 2.0 system (described below) and with two connecting threads of inclusivity and engagement - for cities and towns to be thriving, inclusive, green, engaged and resilient. 

The three aspects of Urban 2.0 are (1) principles, (2) a system to think through and solve challenges and (3) outputs to help deliver meaningful change. These three aspects are described below.

The Urban 2.0 system defines how an integrated set of activities and services for the ecological, structural / physical, and socio-economic parts of our urban environments combine together. Good governance and accountability is the foundation to ensuring the right activities and services are delivered. Good knowledge sharing ensures we make time to learn from each other. 

An accompanying Urban 2.0 model describes seven factors that are typically found in success stories of urban environments that function well.

The Urban 2.0 system defines an urban environment as an eco-system of organised society and flexible infrastructure with a density that permits random connections.

Society is what happens when people gather together. An eco-system implies various stakeholders. Flexible infrastructure allows freedom for people to pursue their goals. Random connections generate innovation.  

The Urban 2.0 system supports a framework of tools and templates, guidance, ideas and examples that are available to anyone who is involved in developing or has an opportunity to shape urban environments. Urban planners and policy makers can use the framework as they consider and implement policy. Governments can use it to consider the best governance structure for supporting cities and towns. Support agency teams can use it to support assessments and projects. Business people can use it to consider how their strategies can support cities and towns. Financiers can use it to consider how to provide funding for purposeful initiatives. Community leaders and non-governmental organisation leaders can use it to learn from other places around the world. Citizens can use it to reimagine their local areas and create better places.

The Urban 2.0 system is the basis of a new book which is due to be published soon.

In reviewing many examples of urban initiatives around the world, seven common principles tend to appear frequently. These seven principles are part of Urban 2.0. They may be updated over time as further research is undertaken. They link to and inform the Urban 2.0 system, and to the tools and techniques to deliver good outputs and outcomes:

1. A mindset to improve urban areas - the right mindset underpins all other principles, through to the benefits we aspire to achieve.

2. Good governance - which stems from a political and economic will to care for people's lives and to care for the planet. Governance needs to be well-informed, accountable and enforced. Good governance ensures that investments and funds are managed well, and that meaningful social, environmental and economic benefits are focused on.

3. Involve everyone - means meaningful inclusion of all groups of people and interests, to agree how we create societies that can work together and be in harmony with nature’s energies and forces. 

4. Use systems thinking - systems thinking underpins the Urban 2.0 system; to understand and appreciate that there are many interlinkages between parts of urban environments which need careful consideration to optimise them all, with scarce resources that are available.

5. Agree where you are and want to be - means knowing where we stand today through good data and diagnostics / profile reviews, and setting meaningful targets that are realistic and achievable with available resources (including funding). 

6. Organise the right investment - means securing the right type of funding and investment in good approaches, with investment cases that focus on the best forms of value to society, the economy and the environment. 

7. Deliver meaningful benefits - outcomes need to have sustainable and real benefits to people and nature. Whenever appropriate, benefits and outcomes should be linked in a properly connected way (using systems thinking) to global-level efforts including the Sustainable Development Goals (the SDGs), climate change mitigation and adaptation, the New Urban Agenda, the Humanitarian Agenda, and the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030.

The Urban 2.0 framework contains tools and templates for improving urban environments, and case studies from around the world. It exists to help people deliver good outputs for cities and towns. 

It does not include standard operating procedures (SOPs) or example policies, since these types of artefacts are specific to governance teams (e.g. municipal authorities) in each urban area. Guidance is available on how to draft good policies (please make contact if you are interested in this).

Examples of tools and techniques included in the framework are as follows (other organisations make  good tools available, which can be linked / combined with these tools):

1. An urban diagnostics assessment
2. Risk & resilience tools and techniques
3. The Urban 2.0 system wheel, to be used for problem solving
4. Examples of actions and lessons learned by cities and towns around the world
5. Interviews with people working in different disciplines
6. Urban roadmap examples

The framework can be used by people in a wide range of ways to help them find solutions to problems, challenges and opportunities. For example:

1. You are facing a particular urban situation or challenge - use the Urban 2.0 system wheel to explore and discuss connections across the urban system, and drill into particular details to review ideas and suggestions on how to approach the problem, challenge or opportunity.
2. You want to run an urban diagnostic of one or more cities or towns.
3. You want to look at examples of how others have approached challenges.
4. You want to use appropriate risk & resilience tools and techniques to "unpack" a situation or challenge and identify actions to take.
5. You want to run interactive problem-solving workshops with a diverse group of people using workshop guidance and facilitation support.
6. You want to review what and how to track and how to measure success, perhaps using the SDG urban indicators.